In the week that celebrates Hull and Proud, Hull FC began their eight days of celebration and events with a resounding victory over Salford Red Devils last Friday.

The result, while important for their top-four hopes after seeing their Challenge Cup run ended five days earlier, carried with it a great significance given that Hull and Proud banner associated with the game.

The Black and Whites’ side against the Red Devils featured 10 Hull-born players, nine of whom had come through the club’s academy, with captain on the night Scott Taylor a product of Hull KR.

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Among them, while he may have been one of the smallest on the pitch, KCOM Stadium debutant Liam Harris left the field feeling 10 feet tall.

For as long as he can remember the 21-year-old scrum-half has been coming to the KCOM, accompanied by his grandfather to watch his beloved Hull play.

Now, three weeks after scoring against his former club Hull KR on his Super League debut for FC, Harris was sticking another memory into a career scrapbook which he hopes will be long and trophy-laden.

Liam Harris in action for Hull FC against Salford at the KCOM Stadium

“Playing at home was amazing. I’d been going to the stadium for years and years with my grandad and it was a special moment for me and my family, who were all buzzing,” Harris told the Mail.

“My family have taken a backwards step and tried to play it down a little bit for me, but they are really proud as am I. It means everything to play for this club.”

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It’s that sense of pride and emotional connection with the club which coach Lee Radford and assistant Andy Last are trying to foster at FC. In Harris, it doesn’t take much coaxing.

Having rejected a contract at Hull KR at the end of last season to make the switch to Hull’s dual-registration partners Doncaster, Harris had set his sights on reaching the top and earning a Super League deal once again, helped by his ability to train with FC.

An opportunity to pull on an FC shirt in the pre-season derby whetted the appetite for what could be to come, before finally officially becoming an FC player last month when Hull paid a fee to Doncaster to make him their player.

At last a full debut came and it was just the small matter of a derby at Magic Weekend.

A game to strike nerves into the hardest of souls, but as Harris reveals, it was made all the harder by not knowing whether he would play as FC tried to get the paperwork through in time.

“At the start of the week I was told I may be playing, then I was told it was unlikely, then I heard I might be playing again and that’s how it went,” explains Harris. “I was a nervous wreck the whole week and I didn’t know how to prepare.

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"I’d been waiting a long time to make my Super League debut and I was glad to get that, it was a great day. I knew I was playing properly at the team run, and I’ve never been through that before, usually you know before then, but we had some off-field things to sort out.

“I can’t explain how good it was to play and score, it was unbelievable to score and to do it in a derby at Magic Weekend.

“When the ball came to me, Masi took a few defenders off me with his run and I just went for it, it was instinct and that’s how I play. When I realised I was over the line I was buzzing.”

Hull FC's Liam Harris run in to score his try during the Super League Magic Weekend derby at St James' Park, Newcastle

If the derby went beyond any expectations, the following week brought a return back to earth with a bump.

Against one of the strongest three-quarter lines, complemented by a fierce back-row, Harris and one of the youngest and most inexperienced back divisions FC have fielded in the Super League era were given a tough time in a loss at Warrington.

“The Warrington game was a big learning curve. We had an average age of about 20 on our edge and it was a tough challenge for us, but we all learnt a lot from it,” admits the ambitious youngster.

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Learning on the job is paying dividends for many of FC’s young players, but while opportunities have emerged because of injuries, it’s a matter of form which Harris is determined to make sure keeps him in the side for as long as possible.

“I want to play as much as I can and regardless if Albert Kelly and Marc Sneyd are coming back, I want to give Radders a big headache and try to stay in the team,” says Harris.

“I want to be playing every week for the club I love and I want to try stay in this side now.”